Online Bible

Jeremiah Shares Israel’s Affliction

I am Jeremiah the man who has ^aseen afflictionBecause of the rod of His wrath.2 He has led me and made me walkIn ^adarkness and not in light.3 Surely He has ^aturned His hand against meRepeatedly all the day.4 ^aHe has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away;He has ^bshattered my bones.5 He has ^abesieged and surrounded me with ^bbitterness and hardship.6 He has made me live in ^adark placesLike those who have long been dead.7 He ^awalled me in so that I cannot get out;He has weighted down my ^bchain.8 Even when I cry out and shout for help,He ^ashuts out my prayer.9 He has ^ablocked my ways with cut stone;He has made my paths crooked.10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait,And like a lion hiding in secret places.11 He has turned aside my ways and ^atorn me in pieces;He has made me desolate.12 He has ^abent His bowAnd ^bset me as a target for the arrow.13 He has caused the arrows of His ^aquiverTo enter my inner parts.14 I have become the object of ^aridicule to all my people,And the subject of their mocking ^bsong all the day.15 He has ^afilled me with bitterness;He has made me drunk with wormwood (bitterness) .16 He has ^abroken my teeth with ^bgravel;He has covered me with ^cashes and made me cower in the dust.17 My soul has been cast far away ^afrom peace;I have forgotten happiness.18 So I say, “My strength has perishedAnd so has my ^ahope and expectation from the LORD.”

Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy

19 Remember O LORD my affliction and my wandering, the ^awormwood and the gall (bitterness) .20 ^aMy soul continually remembers themAnd is ^bbowed down within me.21 But this I call to mind,Therefore I have ^ahope.22 It is because of the LORD’S ^alovingkindnesses that we are not consumed,^bBecause His tender compassions never fail. Mal 3:623 They are new ^aevery morning;Great and beyond measure is ^bYour faithfulness. Is 33:224 “The LORD is my ^aportion and my inheritance,” says my soul;“Therefore ^bI have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.” Num 18:2025 The LORD is good to those who ^await confidently for Him,To those who ^bseek Him on the authority of God’s word.26 It is good that one ^awaits quietlyFor the salvation of the LORD.27 It is good for a man that he should bearThe yoke of godly discipline in his youth.28 Let him ^asit alone in hope and keep quiet,Because God has laid it on him for his benefit. Rom 8:2829 Let him put his mouth in the ^adust in recognition of his unworthiness;There may yet be ^bhope. Mic 7:1730 Let him give his ^acheek to the one who strikes him;Let him be filled with reproach.31 For the Lord will ^anot reject forever, Ps 94:1432 For if He causes grief,Then He will have ^acompassionAccording to His abundant lovingkindness and tender mercy.33 For He ^adoes not afflict willingly and from His heartOr grieve the children of men. Ezek 18:23, 32; Hos 11:8; Heb 12:5-10; 2+@Pet 3:934 To trample and crush under His feetAll the prisoners of the land,35 To deprive a man of ^ajusticeIn the presence of the Most High,36 To ^adefraud a man in his lawsuit—The Lord does not approve of these things.37 Who is there who speaks and it ^acomes to pass,Unless the Lord has authorized and commanded it?38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most HighThat both ^aadversity (misfortune) and good (prosperity, happiness) proceed?

39 Why should any living mortal, or any man,^aComplain of punishment in view of his sins?40 Let us test and ^aexamine our ways,And let us return to the LORD.41 Let us ^alift up our hearts and our hands in prayerToward God in heaven;42 We have ^atransgressed and rebelled,You have ^bnot pardoned.43 You have covered Yourself with ^aangerAnd ^bpursued us;You have slain without pity and ^chave not spared.44 You have ^acovered Yourself with a cloudSo that ^bno prayer can pass through.45 You have made us ^ascum and refuseAmong the peoples (Gentile nations) .46 All our enemies have ^agaped at us.47 ^aPanic and pitfall (traps, danger) have come on us,Devastation and destruction.48 My ^aeyes overflow with streams of tearsBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people (Jerusalem) .49 My eyes overflow ^aunceasingly,Without stopping,50 Until the LORD ^alooks downAnd sees from heaven.51 My eyes see things that bring pain to my soulBecause of all the daughters of my city.52 ^aWithout cause my enemiesHunted me down ^blike a bird;53 They silenced me ^ain the pitAnd ^bplaced a stone over me. Jer 3854 The waters ran ^adown on my head;I said, “I am cut off (destroyed) !”55 I ^acalled on Your name, O LORD,Out of the lowest pit. Jer 38:656 You have ^aheard my voice,“^bDo not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,From my cry for help.”57 You ^adrew near on the day I called to You;You said, “^bDo not fear.” James 4:858 O Lord, You ^ahave pleaded my soul’s cause You have guided my way and protected me;You have rescued and ^bredeemed my life.59 O LORD, You have ^aseen the wrong done to me;^bJudge my case.60 You have seen all their vengeance,All their ^aschemes against me.61 You have heard their ^areproach, O LORD,And all their schemes against me.62 The ^alips and whispering of my assailantsAre against me all day long.63 Look at their ^asitting and their rising their actions and secret counsels;^bI am their mocking song the subject of their ridicule. Ps 139:2; Is 37:2864 You will ^arepay them, O LORD,According to the work of their hands.65 You will ^aharden their hearts;Your curse will be upon them.66 You will ^apursue them in anger and destroy themFrom under the ^bheavens of the LORD.

Jeremiah Shares Israel’s Misery

I am the man who has ^aseen miseryBecause of the rod of His wrath.2 He has driven me and made me walkIn ^adarkness and not in light.3 Indeed, He has ^aturned His hand against meRepeatedly all the day.4 He has consumed my ^aflesh and my skin,He has ^bbroken my bones.5 He has ¹^abesieged and surrounded me with ²^bbitterness and hardship.6 He has made me live in ^adark places,Like those who have long been dead.7 He has ^awalled me in so that I cannot go out;He has made my ¹^bchain heavy.8 Even when I cry out and call for help,He ^ashuts out my prayer.9 He has ^ablocked my ways with cut stone;He has twisted my paths.10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait,Like a lion in secret places.11 He has made my ways deviate, and ^atorn me to pieces;He has made me desolate.12 He ^abent His bowAnd ^btook aim at me as a target for the arrow.13 He made the ¹arrows of His ^aquiverEnter my ²inward parts.14 I have become a ^alaughingstock to all my people,Their ^bsong of ridicule all the day.15 He has ^afilled me with bitterness,He has made me drink plenty of wormwood.16 He has also ^amade my teeth grind with ^bgravel;He has made me cower in the ^cdust.17 My soul has been excluded ^afrom peace;I have forgotten ¹happiness.18 So I say, “My ¹strength has failed,And so has my ^ahope from the LORD.”

Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy

19 Remember my misery and my homelessness, the ^awormwood and ¹bitterness.20 ^aMy soul certainly remembers,And ¹is ^bbent over within me.21 I recall this to my mind,Therefore I ¹^await.22 ¹The LORD’S ^aacts of mercy indeed do not end,^bFor His compassions do not fail.23 They are new ^aevery morning;Great is ^bYour faithfulness.24 “The LORD is my ^aportion,” says my soul,“Therefore I ¹^bwait for Him.”25 The LORD is good to those who ¹^aawait Him,To the ²person who ^bseeks Him.26 It is good that he ^awaits silentlyFor the salvation of the LORD.27 It is good for a man to bearThe yoke in his youth.28 Let him ^asit alone and keep quiet,Since He has laid it on him.29 Let him ¹put his mouth in the ^adust;Perhaps there is ^bhope.30 Let him give his ^acheek to the one who is going to strike him;Let him be filled with shame.31 For the Lord will ^anot reject forever,32 For if He causes grief,Then He will have ^acompassionIn proportion to His abundant mercy.33 For He ^adoes not ¹afflict ²willinglyOr ³grieve the sons of mankind.34 To crush under ¹one’s feetAll the prisoners of the ²land,35 To ¹deprive a man of ^ajusticeIn the presence of the Most High,36 To ¹^adefraud someone in his lawsuit—Of these things the Lord does not ²approve.37 Who is ¹there who speaks and it ^acomes to pass,Unless the Lord has commanded it?38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most HighThat ¹^aboth adversity and good proceed?

39 Of what can any living ¹mortal, or any man,^aComplain ²in view of his sins?40 Let’s ^aexamine and search out our ways,And let’s return to the LORD.41 We ^araise our heart ¹and handsToward God in heaven;42 We have ^adone wrong and rebelled;You have ^bnot pardoned.43 You have covered Yourself with ^aangerAnd ^bpursued us;You have slain and ^chave not spared.44 You have ^aveiled Yourself with a cloudSo that ^bno prayer can pass through.45 You have made us mere ^arefuse and rubbishIn the midst of the peoples.46 All our enemies have ^aopened their mouths against us.47 ^aPanic and pitfall have come upon us,Devastation and destruction;48 My ¹^aeyes run down with streams of waterBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people.49 My eyes flow ^aunceasingly,Without stopping,50 Until the LORD ^alooks downAnd sees from heaven.51 My eyes bring pain to my soulBecause of all the daughters of my city.52 My enemies ^awithout reasonHunted me down ^blike a bird;53 They have silenced ¹me ^ain the pitAnd have ²^bthrown stones on me.54 Waters flowed ^aover my head;I said, “I am ¹cut off!”55 I ^acalled on Your name, LORD,Out of the lowest pit.56 You have ^aheard my voice,“^bDo not cover Your ear from my plea for relief,From my cry for help.”57 You ^acame near on the day I called to You;You said, “^bDo not fear!”58 Lord, You ^ahave pleaded my soul’s cause;You have ^bredeemed my life.59 LORD, You have ^aseen my oppression;^bJudge my case.60 You have seen all their vengeance,All their ^aschemes against me.61 You have heard their ^areproach, LORD,All their schemes against me.62 The ^alips of my assailants and their talkAre against me all day long.63 Look at their ¹^asitting and their rising;^bI am their mocking song.64 You will ^arepay them, LORD,In accordance with the work of their hands.65 You will give them ¹^ashamelessness of heart,Your curse will be on them.66 You will ^apursue them in anger and eliminate themFrom under the ^bheavens of the LORD!